The present invention relates to a method of finishing the edges of a knitted fabric, e.g. a neck or cuff portion of a pullover garment with a decorative pattern and also, a knitted fabric provided at an edge with a decorative finish.
In common, the edges of a neck or cuff portion of a pullover garment are bound off along their edge loops. For providing a desired decorative finish, a separately knitted piece of the decorative pattern is sewed with a sewing machine or added using e.g a linking technique to the bound off region of the pullover garment.
However, joining of a decorative pattern to the edges of a knitted fabric by such a linking technique involves stitch-by-stitch weaving of a strand form of stitches, e.g. a series of consecutive arch patterns along the seam. This action requires a considerable length of time and a specific skill, thus decreasing the productivity.
Also, dropping of a stitch is unavoidable in such stitch-by-stitch joining of loops between the strand of the decorative pattern and the edge of the bound off portion.
When the two pieces are sewed together with a sewing machine for forming a tubular shape, they overlap each other thus causing the seam in between to become greater in the thickness and appear less attractive. Also, a finished garment will provide less comfortability in use.
Above all, the sewing or linking of the decorative piece has to be carried out by an extra procedure other than the primary procedure of knitting the main piece. Hence, the overall cost of production will be increased by the extra procedure.
The present invention is intended to overcome the foregoing drawbacks and its object is to provide a method of finishing the edges of a knitted fabric by knitting a series of arch strands in succession onto the edge of the knitted fabric and also, a knitted fabric provided at an edge with a series of arch strands of a decorative pattern.